Split gate structure and method of using same

ABSTRACT

A method comprises providing first and second semiconductor devices. Each device comprises a transistor having a split gate electrode including first and second gate portions. Each device has a respective ratio between an area of its first gate portion and a sum of areas of its first and second gate portions. For each device, a stress voltage is applied to the first gate portion, but not to the second gate portion. For each device, the first and second gate portions are biased with a common voltage, and data are collected indicating a respective degradation for each device due to the stress voltage. The degradation has a component due to time dependent dielectric breakdown (TDDB) and a component due to bias temperature instability. From the collected data extrapolation determines the degradation component due to TDDB.

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/048,939, filed Mar. 16, 2011, which is expressly incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

FIELD

This disclosure relates to semiconductor fabrication generally, and more specifically to semiconductor device reliability.

BACKGROUND

Negative and Positive bias temperature instability (NBTI and PBTI) and time dependent dielectric breakdown (TDDB) are important reliability issues in MOSFETs. NBTI and PBTI are collectively referred to below as bias temperature instability (BTI).

NBTI affects p-channel MOS devices, which usually operate with negative gate-to-source voltage, as well as nMOS transistors when biased in the accumulation regime with a negative bias applied to the gate. NBTI increases the threshold voltage V_(T) and decreases drain current and transconductance. The NBTI degradation can be characterized by the fractional reduction in drive current for a given drive voltage or by the increase in leakage current.

A substantial portion of the degradation due to NBTI is recovered over time during use. PBTI affects nMOS transistor when positively biased. Generally all of the V_(T) degradation due to PBTI may be recovered over time during usage.

TDDB is a failure mechanism that occurs when the gate oxide breaks down as a result of long-time application of relatively low electric field (as opposite to immediate breakdown, which is caused by strong electric field). The breakdown is caused by formation of a conducting path through the gate oxide to substrate due to electron tunneling current, when MOSFETs are operated close to or beyond their specified operating voltages.

At high voltage, both BTI & TDDB contribute to total degradation. Thus, during device development, the stress voltages that are used for accelerated testing and estimating device lifetimes causes both BTI and TDDB. It is difficult to distinguish how much degradation is due to interface traps (BTI) and how much is due to intrinsic oxide quality (TDDB). As a result, the degradation is overestimated. In order to meet device and product specification based on the pessimistic degradation estimates, product design is more difficult and expensive than would be the case if degradation is more accurately predicted.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1A-1C show an embodiment of a test structure.

FIG. 2 shows a semiconductor wafer having at least one test chip, each test chip having at least one of the test structures of FIGS. 1A, 1B or 1C.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of the test structure of FIG. 1A.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing extrapolation based on data collected from the test structures of FIGS. 1A-1C.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart of a method of determining the TDDB component from the test data collected from the test structures of FIGS. 1A-1C.

FIG. 6A is a schematic diagram of a one time programmable memory cell including the device of FIG. 1A.

FIG. 6B is a schematic diagram of a one time programmable memory including the memory bit cell of FIG. 6A.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart of a method of using the memory of FIG. 6B.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

This description of the exemplary embodiments is intended to be read in connection with the accompanying drawings, which are to be considered part of the entire written description. In the description, relative terms such as “lower,” “upper,” “horizontal,” “vertical,”, “above,” “below,” “up,” “down,” “top” and “bottom” as well as derivative thereof (e.g., “horizontally,” “downwardly,” “upwardly,” etc.) should be construed to refer to the orientation as then described or as shown in the drawing under discussion. These relative terms are for convenience of description and do not require that the apparatus be constructed or operated in a particular orientation. Terms concerning attachments, coupling and the like, such as “connected” and “interconnected,” refer to a relationship wherein structures are secured or attached to one another either directly or indirectly through intervening structures, as well as both movable or rigid attachments or relationships, unless expressly described otherwise.

FIGS. 1A-1C and 2 show a test structure 100 a-100 c and a semiconductor wafer 200 including the test structure 100 a-100 c. The substrate 200 can be a silicon substrate, a III-V compound substrate, a silicon/germanium (SiGe) substrate, a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrate, a display substrate such as a liquid crystal display (LCD), a plasma display, an electro luminescence (EL) lamp display, or a light emitting diode (LED) substrate, according to various exemplary embodiments.

Referring to FIG. 1A and 1B, the test structure 100 a on the at least one wafer 200 includes a first semiconductor device 100 a (FIG. 1A) and a second semiconductor device 100 b (FIG. 1B). Each of the first semiconductor devices 100 a and second semiconductor device 100 b comprises a transistor having an active area (OD) 106, a drain 102 and a source 104.

In some embodiments, each transistor has a high-k gate dielectric layer. In other embodiments, the gate dielectric material of each transistor is formed of a dielectric such as a silicon oxide. The gate electrode layer may comprise polycrystalline silicon. The source 104 and drain 102 may be doped implant regions.

The transistor of the first device 100 a and the transistor of the second device 100 b have source structures 104 that are the same (size, configuration and composition) as each other. The transistor of the first device 100 a and the transistor of the second device 100 b also have drain structures 102 that are the same (size, configuration and composition) as each other.

Each of the semiconductor devices comprises a split gate electrode having first and second gate portions, and having a respective ratio between an area of the first gate portion thereof and a sum of areas of the first and second gate portions thereof. For example, in FIG. 1A, the semiconductor device 100 a has a first gate portion 108 a and a second gate portion 108 b. The area ratio of device 100 a is equal to A_(108a)/(A_(108a)+A_(108b)), where A_(108a) is the area of gate portion 108 a, and A_(108b) is the area of gate portion 108 b.

Similarly, in FIG. 1B, the semiconductor device 100 b has a first gate portion 108 c and a second gate portion 108 d. The area ratio of device 100 b is equal to A_(108c)/(A_(108c)+A_(108d)), where A_(108c) is the area of gate portion 108 c, and A_(108d) is the area of gate portion 108 d. Also, in FIG. 1C, the semiconductor device 100 c has a first gate portion 108 e and a second gate portion 108 f The area ratio of device 100 c is equal to A_(108e)/(A_(108e)+A_(108f)), where A_(108e) is the area of gate portion 108 e, and A_(108f) is the area of gate portion 108 f.

The area ratio of the second device 100 b is different from the area ratio of the first device 100 a. The area ratio of the third device 100 c is different from the area ratios of the first device 100 a and the second device 100 b.

In a given design of experiment, at least one test wafer 200 is fabricated and tested electrically, having a desired number of test structures 100 a, 100 b, . . . 100 c. In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 2, a single wafer 200 has a plurality of integrated circuits (test dies) 150 a-150 c, each test die 150 a-150 c having at least one of the test structures 100 a-100 c.

In some alternative embodiments, the various test structures 100 a-100 c are all included in a single test die. In an alternative embodiment, each respective die has a respectively different one of the test structures 100 a-100 c. In other alternative embodiments (not shown), a plurality of wafers are provided, and each wafer has at least one of the plurality of test structures 100 a-100 c. If the test structures are distributed across plural wafers, each of the wafers should be subjected to the same processing conditions, so that differences between devices are due to the configuration of the split gate in each device, and not due to differences in process parameters.

Referring again to FIGS. 1A-1C, the source structure 104 of each of the transistors 100 a-100 c comprises: a plurality of source regions 120-122 connected to each other, and the drain structure 102 of each transistor 100 a-100 c comprises a plurality of drain regions 130-132 connected to each other. In each transistor 100 a-100 c, the first gate portion 108 a, 108 c, 108 e and the second gate portions 108 b, 108 d, 108 f each have at least one gate segment 110-114 arranged between a respective one of the plurality of source regions 120-122 and an adjacent one of the plurality of drain regions 130-132.

In some embodiments, the plurality of drain regions 130-132 are arranged in a first comb configuration 102, the plurality of source regions 120-122 are arranged in a second comb configuration 104, with the source regions and drain regions interleaved with each other. At least one of the first gate portion (108 a, 108 c or 108 e) and/or the second gate portion (108 b, 108 d or 108 f) includes a plurality of fingers 110-114 arranged in a comb configuration (e.g., 108 b, 108 c, 108 d or 108 e); each source region 120-122 is separated from each adjacent drain region 130-132 by a respective one of the first or second gate portions 110-114. In some embodiments, one of the first gate portion 108 a (FIG. 1A) or the second gate portion 108 f (FIG. 1C) has only a single “finger” region interposed between a source/drain pair.

Although FIGS. 1A to 1C show an example in which the source comb structure 104 has three source regions 130-132 connected together, the drain comb structure 102 has three drain regions 120-122 connected together, and the split gate has a total of five “fingers” 110-114, other configurations may be used. For example, given any integer N greater than zero, the configuration may have N+1 source finger regions 120-122 connected to each other, N+1 drain finger regions 130-132 connected to each other, and a total of 2N+1 gate fingers 110-114 divided among two gate portions. Thus, FIGS. 1A to 1C all correspond to the case where N=2, but in other embodiments, N may be any integer greater than zero. As another example, data points for an area ratio of 0.11 and 0.89 may be collected using a configuration in which N=4, and the two split gate comb structures have a total of 9 fingers.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of one embodiment of a test apparatus 300, including the semiconductor device 100 a having respective ports connected to a switching device, such as a transmission gate 140. When the high stress voltage is applied, then the transmission gate 140 blocks the high voltage from the second gate portion 108 b. The first gate portion 108 a is directly coupled to the voltage source (e.g., PMOS switching transistor 302), bypassing the transmission gate. Thus the first gate portion is subjected to the high voltage. When the measurement is performed then transmission gate 140 passes the gate voltage Vdd to the second gate portion 108 b, and both gate portions 108 a, 108 b are subjected to the same measurement voltage.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart of a method of using the test structures of FIGS. 1A-1C to apportion degradation effects between BTI and TDDB.

At step 400, first and second semiconductor devices 100 a, 100 b are provided, each comprising a transistor having a split gate electrode having first and second gate portions 108 a, 108 b (or 108 c, 108 d), and each having a respective ratio A_(108a)/(A_(108a)+A_(108b)) between an area of the first gate portion thereof and a sum of areas of the first and second gate portions thereof. In some embodiments, the first and second devices 100 a, 100 b are provided on the same chip. In some embodiments, the first and second devices are provided on respectively different dies on the same wafer. In some embodiments, the first and second devices are provided on respectively different wafers subjected to the same process recipe. Prior to application of any stress voltage, baseline performance measurements are taken, to serve as the reference point for measuring degradation.

At step 402, for each device, a stress voltage is applied to the first gate portion 108 a (or 108 c or 108 e), but not to the second gate portion 108 b (or 108 d or 108f). For example, in one embodiment, the first gate portion 108 a is subjected to a high voltage HV, and the source 104, drain 102, second gate portion 108 b and OD 106 are coupled to ground (zero volts). The stress voltage is sufficiently high to cause degradation in the gate dielectric layer due to at least one of BTI and/or TDDB. Thus, for each area ratio A_(108a)/(A_(108a)+A_(108b)) between an area of the first gate portion thereof and a sum of areas of the first and second gate portions, a respectively different fraction of the gate dielectric has been subjected to the stress voltage. In each device, the portion of the gate structure subjected to the stress voltage will exhibit a combination of BTI and TDDB degradation, and the portion of the gate structure that is not subjected t the stress voltage will exhibit only TDDB degradation.

At step 404, for each device, the first and second gate portions are biased with a common voltage for measurement of properties after application of the stress voltage. For example, in one embodiment, the first gate portion 108 a and second gate portion 108 b, source 104 and OD 106 are coupled to ground (zero volts), the drain 102 is connected to Vdd or a low voltage (e.g., 0.1 V), and the first gate portion 108 a and second gate portion 108 b are coupled to the power rail Vdd. For example, a stress voltage may be two times Vdd at 125° C., and may be applied for 1000 seconds. In some embodiments, the stress voltage, stress temperature and time are the same for all of the test devices.

At step 406, data are collected indicating a respective degradation for each device 100 a, 100 b due to the stress voltage. The degradation has a component due to TDDB and a component due to BTI. The measured parameter for TDDB is gate leakage current Ig and the parameter of BTI is saturation current Idsat, but when there is gate leakage, Idsat will be affected too, so that degradation will reflect both TDDB and BTI.

At step 408, the data are extrapolated. First, a regression is performed relating the total percentage of degradation to the area ratio A_(108a)/(A_(108a)+A_(108b)). In some embodiments, the regression is a first order linear regression based on at least two data points, yielding a regression line. In other embodiments, a higher order regression, such as a second order (quadratic) regression is performed to determine a higher order curve relating degradation to the area ratio. In some embodiments, the regression is performed by a programmed computer implementing a least squares best fit regression algorithm to determine the regression line or curve corresponding to the test data.

Having computed or graphically determined a line or curve relating the degradation function to the area ratio, the results are extrapolated to find end points corresponding to an area ratio of 1.0 and an area ratio of 0.0. The area ratio of 1.0 corresponds to a scenario in which the entire gate dielectric is subjected to the stress voltage, and any measured degradation would be due to pure TDDB. In some embodiments, the extrapolation is performed by the computer based on the output of the best fit regression curve.

At step 410, the area ratio of zero corresponds to a scenario in which none of the gate dielectric is subjected to the stress voltage, and any measured degradation would be due to pure BTI.

Because BTI degradation is recovered over time, and a plurality of degradation measurements (saturation current, Idsat, linear drain current, ldlin, and threshold voltage Vt) are collected over time, depending on when the measurements are taken, the measurements may reflect partial BTI recovery. The data collected may be adjusted to account for this partial recovery, using a method as described in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0097091, published Apr. 22, 2010, (U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/252,904, filed Oct. 16, 2008), which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. Alternatively, another recovery-free methodology can be applied. Thus, after applying the correction, a measure reflecting the pure BTI degradation is achieved, with compensation for the time of measurement.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing the extrapolation from the collected data to determine the degradation component due to TDDB and the degradation component due to BTI. A plurality of data points P1, P2 are collected, each including a measurement of degradation and a corresponding area ratio A_(108a)/(A_(108a+A) _(108b)). Each of the collected data points corresponds to a respectively different configuration having a non-zero first gate portion area A₁₀₈ a and a non-zero second gate portion area A_(108b). For example, one of the points P1 may correspond to device 100 a (FIG. 1A) and another one of the points P2 may correspond to device 100 b (FIG. 1B).

The solid line segment 500 in FIG. 5 represents interpolated data representing various combinations of BTI and TDDB in varying proportions. The dashed line segment 502 represents extrapolated data corresponding to zero TDDB (i.e., pure BTI). The dashed line segment 504 represents extrapolated data corresponding to zero BTI (i.e., pure TDDB).

In some embodiments of methods, the structure described above may be used for measuring TDDB and BTI degradation. In other embodiments, the split gate device may be used in applications where a large current (voltage) is sometimes applied, but gate oxide integrity is to be preserved for upcoming operations.

FIG. 6A is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of a one-time programmable (OTP) memory bit cell 600 including the device 100 a of FIG. 1A. Any other one of the devices 100 b (FIG. 1B) or 100 c (FIG. 1C) or any variation of the split gate devices described herein or equivalents thereof may be substituted.

By using the split gate structure, it is possible to apply a very high voltage on one split gate portion 108 a and the drain node 102 to provide very high current during programming (which may result in degradation of the gate dielectric of that gate portion 108 a), and to reserve the other split gate portion 108 b (which has not been stressed during programming) for subsequent reading with a lower voltage (Vdd).

The bit cell 600 has a fuse element 602, which may be a transistor or a passive resistor, for example. The bit cell 600 is programmed just once after manufacturing by “blowing” the fuse 602. The OTP memory cell 600 has a bit line BL and two word lines: a programming word line (WLP) and a reading word line (WLR). Programming word line WLP is connected to one of the split gate portions 108 a or 108 b, and the reading word line WLR is connected to the other one of the split gate portions. The programming word line WLP is separate from the fuse element 602. During programming, a high voltage in programming word line WLP is asserted on gate portion 108 a, and a larger current flows through fuse element 602, programming the fuse. Burning the fuse 602 opens a connection.

After programming, the programming word line WLP is no longer used, and all reads are performed using the reading word line, WLR. For an unprogrammed cell, if the voltage in reading word line WLR is asserted on gate portion 108 b, a current corresponding to the unprogrammed resistance value of the fuse 602 (a value of “1”) flows from the drain 102 to the source 104. If the bit cell has been programmed, the bit line has an open, causing the bit cell 600 to read as “0”.

FIG. 6B is a schematic diagram of a one time programmable memory 610 including an array of bit cells 600 of the type shown in FIG. 6A. FIG. 6B shows 4×4 array having four rows and four columns of bit cells 600. Each row has two word lines WLP, WLR, and each column has one bit line BL. One of ordinary skill in the art can readily assemble an OTP memory array 610 having any desired number of rows and columns, where each column of memory bit cells has a respective bit line BL, and each row of memory bit cells has two word lines: a programming word line WLP and a reading word line WLR.

The diagram in FIG. 6B shows a memory 610 having horizontal rows (along word lines) and vertical columns (along bit lines). One of ordinary skill understands that the device may alternatively be oriented so that word lines (rows) may be arranged vertically and bit lines (columns) may be arranged horizontally.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart of a method of programming the memory 610.

At step 700, an OTP memory array 610 is provided. Each bit cell 600 of the array 610 has a transistor 100 a with a split gate 108 a, 108 b, two word lines WLP and WLR per bit cell, and each bit cell 600 having a fuse 602 separate from the programming word line WLP.

At step 702, a subset of the bit cells are programmed, by applying a programming voltage to the first gate portion 108 a (but not the second gate portion 108 b) of each transistor 100 a to be programmed, to blow the fuse 602 thereof.

At step 704, after completion of programming the subset of bit cells, the programming word lines WLP and the first gate portions 108 a are not used. Any bit cell of the array 610 that is to be read is read by asserting the reading word line WLR to apply a voltage to the second split gate portion 108 b.

In some embodiments, a method comprises providing first and second semiconductor devices. Each device comprises a transistor having a split gate electrode having first and second gate portions. Each device has a respective ratio between an area of the first gate portion thereof and a sum of areas of the first and second gate portions thereof. For each device, a stress voltage is applied to the first gate portion, but not to the second gate portion. For each device, the first and second gate portions are biased with a common voltage, and data are collected indicating a respective degradation for each device due to the stress voltage. The degradation has a component due to time dependent dielectric breakdown (TDDB) and a component due to bias temperature instability. From the collected data extrapolation determines the degradation component due to TDDB.

In some embodiments, a method comprises providing a one-time programmable array 610 of memory bit cells 600. Each memory bit cell 600 comprises a transistor 100 a having a split gate electrode including first and second gate portions 108 a, 108 b, and a fuse element 602 connected to one of a source 104 or drain 102 of the transistor 100 a. The array 610 of memory bit cells 600 is programmed by applying a programming voltage to the first gate portion 108 a of the transistor 100 a of a subset of the memory bit cells, but not to the second gate portions 108 b thereof. The programming voltage is sufficient to program the fuse elements 602 of the subset of the memory bit cells 100 a. After completion of programming the array 610, during reading of the array of memory bit cells 600, a reading voltage is applied only to the second gate portion 108 b of the transistor of each memory bit cell to be read, and the reading voltage is not applied to the first gate portion 108 a of the transistor of each memory bit cell to be read.

In some embodiments, a test structure comprises at least one wafer 200 comprising first and second semiconductor devices 100 a, 100 b. Each of the first and second semiconductor devices comprises: a transistor 100 a (100 b) having a split gate electrode having first 108 a (108 c) and second 108 b (108 d) gate portions, and having a respective ratio between an area A_(108a) (A_(108c)) of the first gate portion thereof and a sum A_(108a)+A_(108b) [A_(108c)+A_(108d)] of areas of the first and second gate portions thereof. The ratio A_(108c)/(A_(108c)+A_(108d)) of the second device 100 b is different from the ratio A_(108a)/(A_(108a)+A_(108b)) of the first device 100 a.

Although the subject matter has been described in terms of exemplary embodiments, it is not limited thereto. Rather, the appended claims should be construed broadly, to include other variants and embodiments, which may be made by those skilled in the art. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A structure, comprising: first and second semiconductor devices over a semiconductor substrate, each of the first and second semiconductor devices comprising: a transistor having a split gate electrode having first and second gate portions, and having a respective ratio between an area of the first gate portion thereof and a sum of areas of the first and second gate portions thereof, and each of the transistors comprises: a plurality of source regions connected to each other, and a plurality of drain regions connected to each other, wherein the first and second gate portions each have at least one segment arranged between a respective one of the plurality of source regions and an adjacent one of the plurality of drain regions.
 2. The structure of claim 1, wherein the split gate electrode comprises a metal gate material.
 3. The structure of claim 1, wherein the plurality of drain regions are arranged in a first comb configuration.
 4. The structure of claim 3, wherein the plurality of source regions are arranged in a second comb configuration.
 5. The structure of claim 1, wherein at least one of the first and second gate portions includes a plurality of fingers arranged in a comb configuration.
 6. The structure of claim 1, wherein the plurality of drain regions are arranged in a first comb configuration; the plurality of source regions are arranged in a second comb configuration, with the source regions and drain regions interleaved with each other; at least one of the first and second gate portions includes a plurality of fingers arranged in a comb configuration; and each source region is separated from each adjacent drain region by a respective one of the first or second gate portions.
 7. The structure of claim 1, wherein the structure is included in a bit cell of a one-time programmable memory.
 8. The structure of claim 7, wherein the bit cell further comprises: a programming word line connected to the first gate portion; a reading word line connected to the second gate portion; a fuse element; and a bit line connected to the plurality of drain regions and to the fuse element.
 9. A one-time programmable memory having a plurality of bit cells, wherein each bit cell includes a respective structure according to claim
 1. 10. A test structure, comprising: first and second semiconductor devices over a semiconductor substrate, each of the first and second semiconductor devices comprising: a transistor having a split gate electrode having first and second gate portions, and having a respective ratio between an area of the first gate portion thereof and a sum of areas of the first and second gate portions thereof, and each of the transistors comprises: a plurality of drain regions arranged in a first comb configuration; and a plurality of source regions arranged in a second comb configuration, with the source regions and drain regions interleaved with each other, and each source region is separated from each adjacent drain region by a respective one of the first or second gate portions.
 11. The test structure of claim 10, wherein at least one of the first and second gate portions includes a plurality of fingers, and the plurality of fingers are arranged in a comb configuration.
 12. The structure of claim 10, wherein the split gate electrode comprises a metal gate material.
 13. The structure of claim 10, wherein the structure is included in a bit cell of a one-time programmable memory.
 14. The structure of claim 13, wherein the bit cell further comprises: a programming word line connected to the first gate portion; a reading word line connected to the second gate portion; a fuse element; and a bit line connected to the plurality of drain regions and to the fuse element.
 15. The structure of claim 14, wherein: the bit cell is one of a plurality of bit cells in the one-time programmable memory, the plurality of bit cells arranged in rows and columns, the array having a programming word line for each row and a reading word line for each row; and the programming word line is separate from the fuse element.
 16. A one-time programmable memory having a plurality of bit cells, wherein each bit cell includes a respective structure according to claim
 10. 17. A test structure, comprising: at least one semiconductor substrate comprising first and second semiconductor devices, each of the first and second semiconductor devices comprising a transistor having a split gate electrode having first and second gate portions, and having a respective ratio between an area of the first gate portion thereof and a sum of areas of the first and second gate portions thereof, the semiconductor substrate further comprising at least one switching device connected to the first and second gate portions of at least one of the first and second semiconductor devices, for switching input connections from the first gate portion alone to both the first and second gate portions.
 18. The test structure of claim 17, wherein the ratio of the second device is different from the ratio of the first device.
 19. The test structure of claim 16, wherein each of the semiconductor devices comprises: a plurality of source regions connected to each other, and a plurality of drain regions connected to each other, wherein the first and second gate portions each have at least one segment arranged between a respective one of the plurality of source regions and an adjacent one of the plurality of drain regions.
 20. The test structure of claim 19, wherein at least one of the first and second gate portions includes a plurality of segments arranged in a comb configuration. 